Timer
by papalogia
Summary: Laxus Dreyer excelled at everything from planking for an unholy eleven minutes to getting perfect scores on clearly rigged physics tests. Lucy Heartfilia was determined to make him eat her dust (literally) on the track. Bets were placed, epiphanies were reached, and somewhere along the way, an agreement was made.


**A/N:** I think it's been established that I adore AU's. This was supposed to be a really stupid Laxus versus Lucy in gym thing and turned into a shojou manga transcript, and I am so ashamed. But this is 6K and I wrote it at 3 AM, so...enjoy?

* * *

"Lord knows I'm sinning tonight, oh my God, _look_ at him. I just wanna drizzle hot chocolate fudge all over him and lick him right-"

"Here," Lucy splashed a small amount of water on her best friend's gym uniform. "To alleviate your thirst, you nasty."

"Lucy, you take _one_ look at him and tell me you wouldn't lie back and let the man have his wicked, wicked way with you," Cana gestured to the object of her lust. Bacchus Groh finished his hundredth sit up with a loud grunt, lying back and arching his back off the floor in a stretch.

"No," the blonde deadpanned. Cana rolled her eyes. "Lies. Oh, this one might appeal to you, look there!"

Lucy's warm brown eyes followed the path of Cana's arm, finally catching sight of what was being pointed out. Laxus Dreyer lay in plank position, his massive biceps trembling imperceptibly as he fought to remain unwaveringly still. Beside him, Sting Eucliffe and Natsu Dragneel were shouting words of encouragement as Rogue Cheney timed him, his mouth slightly ajar.

"Why would you think _Laxus Dreyer_ would appeal to me more than your boy toy?" Lucy asked. Her mouth ran dry as she watched the way his back muscles flexed deliciously, bunching and relaxing as he plowed on. Never in her seventeen years of life had she seen such fine musculature.

"You got a little drool," Cana teased. "I don't blame you, men's back muscles remind us that God does, in fact, exist."

"Says the atheist."

"I was being...what's the word, figurative? Whatever. Doesn't matter. What does is the fact that Laxus is getting your panties in a bunch!"

"Oh my God, he is not!" Lucy hissed, praying that he hadn't heard her. It would only add more ammunition for him to tease her with.

"You look ten seconds away from jumping him and riding that D till you both see the sunrise, don't you dare lie," Cana immediately continued her Russian twists as their gym teacher, an absolutely ruthless man who the students affectionately called 'The Terminator', could skin them alive for dawdling. Lucy followed in suit, cursing as the six kilogram ball seemed to get heavier.

She absolutely loathed testing days with a vengeance. A two day process that took place every month wherein students would undergo a truly hellish max testing program. Planks, V-Sits, sit ups, crunches, Russian twists...every conceivable method of torture would take place on day one, followed by the dreaded twelve minute run the next day.

"The Terminator miss me?" Mira hissed, dropping onto the mat beside Lucy and quickly beginning her sit ups.

"I told him you had a lady issue to sort out, so for all intents and purposes, Aunt Irma's in town," Cana replied.

"I owe you a drink," Mira shot the brunette a grateful look. Cana merely smirked and said, "We can settle this easily by telling me how it went with tall, dark, and demonic."

 _"Mard,"_ Mira corrected, "Has agreed to accompany me to see Hamlet this weekend. So I suppose it went well. What's the status on the drunk?"

"Oh, enough about Bacchus, I'll get him later," the heated look in her violet eyes spelled only trouble, and Lucy felt a shiver run down her back. "In other news, Lucy has the hots for Laxus."

"Seriously?" Mira squealed, sitting up and clapping her hands. "You would make gorgeous children! Blonde hair with his stormy blue gaze, or blonde with your kind brown ones! Oh, oh! And-"

"I would sooner get back together with Hibiki than go down that route," Lucy grumbled, though she couldn't help staring at the blond who was miraculously still in plank.

"Five minute mark," Rogue declared. Sting and Natsu both looked ready to pass out at the declaration as their voices reached a fever pitch.

"Come on, Laxus, go for ten!"

"Orga managed twelve!"

"So do twenty!"

"You have got it _bad,"_ Mira's voice was awed. Lucy squeaked and went back to her twists, turning her face away from the sneaky white-haired woman beside her. "No I don't!"

"Everybody knows you do, Lucy, the way you two flirt? It's only a matter of time," Cana scoffed.

"We don't flirt!" Lucy nearly screeched. Laxus's head snapped up, his scarred eyebrow lifted questioningly as he stared at her. His cheeks were flushed, jaw tightly clenched, and the sight had her ducking her head in embarrassment.

Lucy didn't deny that she was attracted to the man. With his imposing six foot two frame, ridiculously large muscles, devilish blue eyes, cocky smirk, and lightning shaped scar, he was what Cana would call 'sex on a stick'. It was the moment he opened his mouth, however, that anything that had originally attracted her to him vanished. He was a winning combination of sarcasm, rudeness, aggravation, and perversion all rolled into a six foot tall burrito of fun.

Worst of all, Lucy was a favoured object of his teasing. He made the most of their shared classes by poking fun of her mercilessly, coming up with rather inventive new nicknames for her every day, and stealing the contents of her pencil case. Entirely harmless, but enough to drive her up the wall. That wasn't to even begin to touch their legendary shouting matches in the hallways. Laxus was smart, and he knew just exactly which buttons to push to render her a screaming mess.

"Hang on...Juvia!" Cana yelled. The blue haired captain of the swim team paused in her movements, staring at the brunette curiously. "Yes, Cana?"

"Laxus and Lucy, do you think they should hook up?"

"You mean you two aren't already dating?" Juvia's face was that of comical surprise. "With the way you two flirt and argue, Juvia assumed...huh. Cana, put Juvia down for the bets on these two. Juvia needs to go meet Totomaru-kun and inform him that he was incorrect and now owes her dinner."

"Juvia and Totomaru?" Cana murmured as she walked away, _"_ _Never_ would have seen that coming..."

"Mira," Lucy's eyes fell to her friend's feet, which were clad in slippers. "Your shoes?"

"I forgot them in my locker, but I couldn't dally any longer," Mira looked appropriately terrified. "What if The Terminator sticks me in detention?"

Lucy blanched. Detention with The Terminator was a hell she had suffered only once for skipping class on her period due to the cramps. He had forced her to run laps during her lunch on that very day, and had Laxus not been there, she was certain she would have probably died on the track.

As if she had read her thoughts, Cana said, "Well, we can't all have our own Laxus to swoop in and drag us to the infirmary when things get that harrowing."

"But you _can_ have a Mard," an amused voice came from behind the three girls, who let out simultaneous squeaks as they whipped around to stare at the TA.

"M-Mard!" Mira exclaimed, a pink hue to her cheeks Lucy wasn't entirely sure was from exertion. "What on Earth-?"

"Your shoes," Mr Geer, as the students were instructed to call him, held out the purple and silver runners delicately. "You seemed in an awful hurry, and I daresay you are not permitted to participate in class without appropriate footwear."

"Thank you," Mira smiled softly. Cana, who was well out of Mard's vision range, made a hole with one hand and repeatedly stuck her finger in, wagging her eyebrows. Mira flushed even brighter, and Lucy smacked the woman upside the head.

"Miss Alberona," Mard tilted his head slightly, "I would cease with the lewd actions, if I were you. I doubt your instructor would take it lightly, and I believe I am to report such actions to him. Lucky for you, I have a dislike of The Terminator strong enough to override my inclination to follow the rules."

"Does this dislike stem from his rudeness to Mira?" Cana asked slyly.

"Even if it does, I fail to see how it is of relevance. Good day," he nodded once and left the gym, pausing only to yell at Sting for failing to hand in his English essay on time.

"If he doesn't propose to you by grad, I will go celibate for our entire university career," Cana's jaw dropped. "He's got it bad..."

"Just like you three will once The Terminator rears his ugly head," Laxus boomed. Lucy dropped the medicine ball on her lap in surprise as she tilted her head back to an uncomfortable angle to face him. "Done with your plank?"

"Eleven minutes," he smirked, fanning himself with the neck of his shirt. Lucy ignored the way her stomach fluttered in favour of snarkily replying, "Orga managed twelve."

Immediately, the smirk morphed into an ugly scowl. "I'll kick his ass tomorrow during the run."

"Oh?" Lucy pouted childishly, fighting to keep her pounding heart steady. She adored the way only she could seem to rile him up like this. "I thought _I_ was your main competitor for the run. Am I being replaced?"

"You? My main competition? Please. It's a miracle you can run at all with those watermelons weighing you down," Laxus snorted. Lucy's arms came up to her chest protectively, covering her generous breasts.

"I'm the captain of the track and field team, clearly I'm capable of running," Lucy snarled. She cursed herself as Laxus's eyes lit up. She had fallen for the bait yet again.

"Fine then. How's about this? Tomorrow, you and I go toe to toe. Person who does the most laps obviously wins, and loser has to do whatever the winner says," Lucy's eyes narrowed. The businesswoman in her raged to banter for an even better deal, but she didn't have much time before he walked off.

"Fine. Nothing sexual," Laxus wrinkled his nose. "Even I'm not that twisted. It's a deal, watitsmelon."

"That made absolutely no sense," Lucy giggled. She couldn't help it. His nicknames for her were only ever humorous when he had time to mull over it. When put on the spot, they were stupid, to say the least.

"Might wanna finish charting, The Terminator is collecting later today," Laxus warned, waving his book for emphasis. He strode off, no doubt to file away the folder and spend the rest of class relaxing.

"That," Cana declared, "Was flirting if I ever saw it."

Lucy's only response was to throw her medicine ball at the brunette.

* * *

"Miss Heartfilia," Mr Stinger sneered. "If you spent as much time studying as you did running around on the track like an utter fool, your grades would not suffer as they are. I'm very disappointed, not that that's any surprise given it's _you."_

He slapped her test down on her desk, and Lucy winced when she saw the bright red 55 in the corner. Across the room, Cana raised an eyebrow. When Lucy briefly flashed her the test, she flinched in sympathy. There was no point in asking Cana how she fared-her father was a renowned physics professor at the country's most reputable university, so the subject was all too easy for her.

"Mr Dreyer, a perfect one hundred," Laxus grinned, stuffing the papers into a slot in his binder. Lucy sank in her seat, staring fixedly at the board.

It was wholly unfair that he managed to excel in everything he ever attempted. Perfect grades, perfect body...and he did it all with that smug little smirk on his face. Lucy was determined to wipe him on the track tomorrow, come hell or high water. She would not fail.

"Luce," Sting whispered from beside her. "I'll help you with physics if you help with my English report. Satan assigned Wuthering Heights. I'm suffering."

"Didn't you read that in the fifth grade for kicks?" Lucy's eyes peered at the red 100 on Sting's paper.

"Yeah, but it was boring and the transitions were awful. Help, please?" he begged. Lucy sighed. "Fine."

"Bless!" Sting hugged her tightly, and Lucy pushed him off quickly. "God, Sting, you stink!"

"Fifty-five?" Laxus snatched the paper off her desk. He flipped to page two, squinting at the diagrams she had drawn. "I can't tell if this is a circuit or a litter box..."

"It's a circuit," she snapped, reaching for it. Laxus held it up higher, a smirk dancing on his lips. "Oh, look! You got question thirteen wrong. It was the easiest one, too-"

"Fuck you," Lucy snarled. Her ears burned in embarrassment as the entire class stared fixedly at her. She couldn't believe he had the audacity to do this to her. To put her on the spot in front of her classmates. He had teased her before, yes, embarrassed her on occasion, even, but it was an unspoken rule that grades would never be a factor.

"Laxus, dude-" Sting was cut off by the buffer blond's glare. "Chill, Eucliffe. I'm only teasing."

"Seems like a lot more than that to me," Sting mumbled under his breath.

"Why are you getting him to help you?" Laxus asked suddenly. "Honestly, I could probably tutor you more efficiently."

"Because he isn't a pompous asshole with a venomous cactus shoved up his dry, crusty ass!" Lucy spat. She dug through her pants pocket, procuring her house key and slapping it on Sting's desk. "Here! You know where I live, just let yourself in."

Lucy strode out of the classroom, not caring that there was still a half hour left in the period.

She was immensely satisfied to see the almost sheepish look on his face.

* * *

"Never pegged you for a skipper," Mest Gryder said as he slid into the passenger seat of her car.

"Never pegged you for a smoker," Lucy eyed the cigarette placed behind his ear. Mest laughed, plucking the cancer stick and twirling it between his fingers. "I don't smoke. Carrying it around makes me look badass."

"As if the scars and piercings don't already do that," Lucy chuckled wetly, wiping at her eyes.

"So what's captain doing crying in her car?" he asked. His fingers pressed the buttons on the dash, surfing for a radio station.

"Laxus is being an ass," she growled.

"That's old news, he's always been an ass. You've never cried because of it, so what did he do?"

"He's just...ugh!" Lucy went on to describe the events of physics class and Laxus's callousness. As she raved and ranted, Mest merely sat there and listened, nodding every so often. When she finished, he said, "Bluenote only hates you because you're close to Cana, and Gildartz got the uni promotion instead of him. As for Laxus...he's jealous."

"Of what, my crap grades?"

"No. Of Sting," at her incredulous stare, he elaborated, "You went to Sting for help with physics instead of him, despite the fact that their grades are the same. It's like you're choosing Sting over him."

"Sting offered to help in return for English assistance!" Lucy exclaimed, though she was certain her heart was going to burst out from her chest. If Laxus was jealous, then it meant...he liked her. He liked her in the way Sting liked Rogue. The kind of way that involved kisses and cuddles and flirting and things that made her stomach flutter pleasantly. Lucy would be lying if she said the idea of Laxus Dreyer liking her was unappealing. Though cocky and aloof, he was smart, helpful, and charismatic, and Lucy liked it.

She liked it a lot.

"He doesn't care. He likes you," Mest's gaze shifted for a moment, and a devious grin planted itself on his lips. "And I'm about to prove it."

"How?" Lucy demanded. Mest turned in his seat so he faced her, his turquoise eyes sparkling mischievously. "Whatever happens in the next five minutes, roll with it."

"Wh-" any further complaint was cut off by Mest's lips on hers. Lucy sat in silence for only a minute before hesitantly reciprocating. It wasn't an unpleasant kiss by any means, but it didn't make her feel anything in particular. One hand cupped the back of her neck, drawing her in closer, and his other rested a few centimeters above her thigh.

"Well," Mest panted as he pulled back. "I think that did the job."

"What do you mean?" she whispered. Mest tilted his head at an odd angle, indicating something. "Be discrete."

Lucy peered at the area out of the corner of her eyes, which widened when she saw a very familiar six foot two frame frozen in the wrap around hall. Her mouth popped open and she stared at Mest accusingly. "You knew!"

"No fucking shit."

"I skipped class and he caught us making out in my car! He's gonna think I'm dating you!"

"I thought you didn't like him?" Mest asked in an innocent tone, though it was belied by the smirk on his lips. Lucy reached up and tugged his piercing harshly, smiling when he yelped. "I...you know what? You don't need to know."

"Lucy likes Laxus!" Mest sang. "You like him!"

"I hope you get run over by a thousand mopeds," she scowled, sinking in her seat.

"I might die of something more gruesome," he said solemnly. "Overprotective crush syndrome. He's gonna call a hit on me, I know it."

"Good," she hissed viciously.

"Real talk, though. He's gonna confess tomorrow. Two guys laying it on you? He ain't gonna let that slide," Mest opened her glove box, pulling out a packet of skittles he had hidden there the last time they had had an in-car discussion. "Just you wait. End of the day tomorrow, you two will finally get together."

"Thanks, Mest," Lucy said, touched.

"And I will have finally won the bet!"

"Asshole!"

* * *

"Said your prayers?" Cana asked as she tied her shoe laces. Mira rose from her yoga stretch, popping her back loudly. "Yup. I informed Mard that I was gonna die today."

"And?"

"Poor sap took it literally and choked on his coffee," Mira laughed.

"Hence why he's here," true to the brunette'a word, Mard sat stiffly on the bleachers, a cup of coffee in one hand, and a pen in the other as he scribbled away at the pile of essays perched precariously on his knees. Beside him, a small red bag Lucy recognized as a first aid kit lay hidden beneath his sweater.

"He's ready to do some CPR on you," Cana cackled.

"More like me on him," Mira's hands fell to the waistband of her gym sweatpants, tugging them down to reveal the women's gym shorts, a scrap of red cloth that could have passed as underwear had it been needed. Lucy heard the tell tale sound of a cup clattering, and turned to see Mard, slack-jawed and bright red, with a now soaked lap of papers.

"You dirty skank!" Cana gasped, "I fucking approve so hard!"

"Enough about my stripping joint, look at Laxus," Mira eyed the blond appreciatively, "He is putting on one hell of a show for you, Lucy..."

Laxus leaned back, his shirt drawing up from the front and revealing a delicious bit of abs and what looked like the beginning of a happy trail. Lucy licked her lips, wondering if the temperature increased. Never had her shorts and shirt combo felt so stifling. He took a swing of his water, and Lucy watched, transfixed, as his Adams apple bobbed up and down slowly. A trickle of water slid down his chin, over his neck and collarbone, and down his shirt.

"Don't worry, Lucy," Cana snickered, throwing an arm around the busy blonde's shoulders, "Once you two get together, he can dive into other places like a thirst-starved man."

Lucy squeaked, blushing deeply. Laxus's heated blue gaze met hers and he made his way over, paying no heed to the way his fanclub groaned in disappointment.

"Ready to die on the track?" he asked.

"I should be asking you that," Lucy was amazed with the way she kept her voice steady. She wanted nothing more than to grab him by the collar of his shirt, tug him down, and plunder his mouth so she could finally leave him speechless for a change.

"I see your vice-captain is out to support you," his lip curled in distaste. "First he skips class to slobber all over your face, then he skips to see your squishy bits jiggle as you run? _Pathetic."_

"Jealous?" Lucy cooed, ignoring the surprised noises Cana and Mira made. She felt a twinge of pity for Mest as Mira's eyes settled on him dangerously. Either the woman was going to make sure his body was never found for getting in the way of her ship (it was like she spoke another language for couple crazed people), or she was plotting their babies.

"Of that ingrate?" Laxus snorted in derision, though Lucy didn't miss the way his jaw tensed. "Fuck no. Come on, we need to get into position."

Lucy made her way to the inner lane of the track, clicking her headphones into place and placing her phone in between her breasts, as most of the other women were. She toyed with the white buds as The Terminator set up the large timer, placing them in her ears once he raised his hands to ready them.

The timer buzzed, and Lucy began to run as fast as she could. It was a stupid move on her part, really. If she paced herself, logic dictated that she would be able to fit in more laps in the twelve minutes, but there was something about the shit-eating grin on his face that set her off.

As the chorus to "Beast" began, Lucy was overtaken by an extremely smug looking Laxus, who waved cheekily. Lucy growled, picking up pace and meeting him head on. She made sure to take extra heavy steps, ensuring that her breasts bounced oh-so-perfectly. She knew she had won when she saw him stutter in his steady stride.

So he was just as physically attracted to her as she was to him. That didn't mean much, however. So what if he thought she was hot? So did a majority of the male population in the school. Lucy needed to know that he liked her on an emotional level. She supposed their flirting could count as some sort of...not physical liking, but she wasn't sure how.

Now that she thought about it, they could have been seen as a couple. They knew each others locker combos by the end of the first week of school, often spotted each other at lunch, texted at odd hours of the morning, and he made stupid faces when he passed her classroom door. The question was, did he do it intentionally? Was he purposefully making it seem like they were a couple, or had he been just unaware of the way they acted with each other?

"Keep moving, princess," Laxus yelled loud enough to be heard over her music. She scowled and pumped her legs faster, despite the burn in her lungs. She approximated she had about three more minutes worth of full-speed energy left in her before she devolved to a wheezing mess, but a glance at the clock revealed she still had five minutes left.

She could run full speed for five minutes.

Lucy found it odd that it was only now that she was realizing what an amazing couple she and Laxus would make. Perhaps it was the recent onslaught of support towards their union, and the heaping amount of proof indicating mutual interest, but whatever it was, Lucy was ready to act on it. She had never been one to let a good thing go from her life.

Her lungs had never burned more in her life. Every breath felt like somebody was shoving sandpaper down her throat and stuffing it full. Every swallow had her coughing. She swore she tasted blood in the back of her mouth, and soon, she couldn't produce any saliva. Her arms and legs trembled and hurt, and her stomach was begging her to slow down to ease the stitch.

"Lucy," Cana gasped as she struggled to keep up. "Slow down, you'll burn out."

"Can't...lose..." Lucy wheezed, forcing her legs to keep moving. They felt like leaden weights pulling her down.

"Not worth it!" Cana huffed. Lucy ignored her in favour of speeding up and leaving the slowing brunette behind. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Bacchus slow down and hold out his water bottle to her.

Thirty seconds on the clock, and Laxus was about to finish the lap that would make him the winner.

She couldn't let that happen.

Adrenalin seeping through her veins, Lucy sprinted forward with a vigor she hadn't known she possessed. Triumph flooded her very being as she passed by Laxus, just as the buzzer rang out loud, signifying the end of the run.

Lucy's hands fell to her knees as she fought to lower her heart rate. Blood pounded in her ears, drowning out the beat of the music from her headphones. Her legs twitched and trembled so fiercely Lucy thought she would collapse. She coughed weakly, wincing as her throat attempted to re-lubricate itself.

"You won," Laxus wheezed, patting her shoulder heavily. The sudden weight was too much for the exhausted blonde, who fell down.

"Lucy?" Laxus asked cautiously.

A sudden wave of dizziness swept through her. She squeezed her eyes shut, hoping to will it away.

The last thing she registered was Laxus's panicked voice telling her to stay awake.

* * *

Lucy awoke to something repeatedly poking her side.

Moaning in discomfort, she swatted it away. Moving her arm felt odd. It was like she knew she was moving it, but she couldn't feel it. The poking increased, and she opened her heavy eyes with the intent to glare the perpetrator to death.

Laxus sat next to her bed, still in his gym clothes, with his head in his folded arms. He continued to idly poke her with a pen, unaware of her conscious state. His face was carefully blank, but his eyes were worried. It was an odd look on him. The last time she remembered him with that expression was back in the tenth grade when she had broken her ribs on a hurdle.

Realizing her throat was probably too dry to speak, she hit his head lightly with the back of her hand. He jerked up, staring at her in surprise.

"Holy fuck, you're finally up," he twisted around to glance at the clock. "It's been two hours."

"Why?" Lucy croaked, gagging as her throat scratched in protest. Laxus made shushing noises as he glanced around for water. "Ah, shit. I'll go get some from a vending machine. I'd tell you to stay put, but you're kind of immobile already, so..."

Once he left the room, Lucy looked at her side table. A large pot of flowers Lucy knew she had seen somewhere before took up a majority of the space, and a white card was tucked in the soil. Picking it up and brushing off the dirt, Lucy opened it and began to decipher Cana's messy scrawl.

 _We were too broke to afford an actual bouquet, so we got Mard to open the agro lab and then we jacked the prettiest looking pot. He said one of these things was poisonous, so don't eat the petals. Wait, why is our school growing poisonous plants...? LUCY WE NEED TO FIND OUT, GET BETTER SOON. Anyhuzzle, we got Mest to distract Wendy, so you and Laxus have the infirmary to yourself. It's not exactly a hospital, but it's close enough. Take it from me, hospital sex is the bomb._

"What poor doctor did she seduce?" Laxus wondered. Lucy squeaked, stuffing the card under her blankets. Laxus extended the chilled bottle of water, the lid already uncapped for her convenience. She moaned in delight as the cool liquid rehydrated her dry throat and eased the itch. Smacking her lips loudly, she nearly missed Laxus rubbing his nose furiously. She raised an eyebrow and he stuttered, "A-allergies."

"Not a doctor," Lucy rasped. "Med student. Back when I broke my ribs."

"She had sex while you were dying of pain? Some best friend," he said, seating himself back down. Lucy shrugged.

"Dehydration," Laxus said suddenly, "Wendy said you hadn't had enough water today. Overtaxed yourself."

"One for the books," Lucy chuckled, wincing as the action caused her throat to itch terribly. Her eyes widened when she felt two callused hands at the underside of her jaw, rubbing small circles that, oddly enough, made the itch stop. Laxus stared at the wall fixedly, failing to hide the redness of his cheeks. "G-granny Porly says this helps."

"Your grandma is awesome."

"I know," Laxus's eye twitched. "Sting reminds me. Every day. You know he purposefully gets hurt so she can treat him?"

"I think it has more to do with the fact that Rogue volunteers in the infirmary," Lucy said dryly.

"He has Rogue and he's still going after you," Laxus muttered, dropping his hands. "Fucking playboy."

"He's not going after me, Laxus," Lucy snapped. "Even if he was, why does it concern you? You're not my boyfriend."

"I-" his jaw clenched, and Lucy would see a vein in his forehead throbbing fiercely. Eventually, he relaxed and slowly spoke. "I'm just looking out for you. You're my friend."

"Oh," Lucy felt her stomach drop. So he did see her as just a friend. It wasn't really a surprise, then. If he had an interest in her, he would have acted upon it. He wasn't the type to dally. Still, it hurt. Lucy wasn't opposed to dating him-she rather liked the prospect. She had built herself up to it, and with everybody so clearly supportive of the idea, she was ready for it. She was ready to date Laxus, but it was clear he didn't feel the same way.

"Have you decided?" Lucy blinked as his voice pulled her from her thoughts. "Decided what?"

"What I have to do. I lost."

Lucy felt her heart rate pick up. She could make Laxus do many things-declare her the queen of the school, embarrass himself in public, make him buy her one of the ridiculously expensive take out options from Zephyra's...but she didn't want any of that. No, Lucy wanted the truth. She wanted to put this dating debacle to rest.

"Tell me the truth," Lucy finally whispered, her grip in the bottle tightening. "Do you like me?"

"Of course I like you," Lucy's breath stalled. "You're my friend."

And she immediately deflated. Still, Lucy pressed on, "No, I mean...do you like me as more than a friend?"

Silence fell, and Lucy couldn't bring herself to raise her head to stare at him. She couldn't face him in the wake of her embarrassing question, and, had she been able to, she was certain she would have run out of the infirmary to another country to avoid continuing talks.

"Why?"

"Because everybody thinks we're dating and...we flirt a lot, apparently, and..." it was like a dam had burst inside of her. What did it matter if she blurted out all of her concerns? It couldn't have been more humiliating than her original question. "And you confuse me! We argue like cats and dogs, but you're always there when I need you. You've known me since kindergarten, and it's like you've been this thorn in my side ever since! Worse than a thorn! You're like a sword. If I get rid of you, I won't be able to survive. You've always been there for me, and...and the more I think about it, the less opposed I am to us...as a couple, you know? When people mistake us for a couple...I...I like it. I don't know why. So please, just tell me."

The tension left in the aftermath of her confession was thick enough to slice with a knife. Lucy kept her eyes squeezed tightly shut, crushing the bottle in her grasp till the cylinder was a thin line of plastic. Eventually, Laxus spoke up.

"Do you remember how I got the scar over my eye?" the sudden turn of his question had her reeling, but the softness to his tone had her hesitantly replying, "Yeah. Ivan cracked a bottle over your face."

"I was ten, and you found me first. I still remember you bawling your eyes out, but it was late at night. Nobody could hear. You picked me up and dragged me to the hospital," he let out a mirthless chuckle. "You tore off the bottom half of your skirt and made me an eyepatch. You saved my eye."

"What does that-?"

"That was when I realized that I liked you," Lucy swore her heart stopped in that moment. She didn't dare utter a single noise for fear of stopping his tirade. "Kind of like my own...saving angel, I guess. It was a crush at first. You know, you saved me, kind of obvious I would like you, but...it didn't go away. Now we're here, seven years later, and I'm still head over heels for you. But I refused to ask you out."

"Why?" Lucy whispered, "You could have saved us so much heartache! What, is it because you think I can do better? That's bull-"

"Are you fucking kidding me? This isn't a goddamn Nicholas Sparks novel, that wasn't the issue. No, I refused to ask you out because that's what everybody expected, and also what you just said," Laxus leaned forward, bracing his forearms on the edge of her bed. Lucy finally met his gaze, and was surprised by the amount of hurt in their depths. "You do like me, yes. I can see that. I've known you liked me for a while now. But you're only acting on it because of other people think we'd make an awesome couple. If you and I are going to date, it will be on our own terms. See what I'm saying?"

"I do."

Though it wasn't a rejection, it still stung as hard. She knew she had only realized how far she had fallen for him because of her friends' goading, but her imagination had worked overtime filling in the gaps and...Lucy craved that. She wanted to see what a life with Laxus would be like if they were in love. Oddly enough, she felt not much would change. They would still bicker and argue and tease each other without mercy, but then they could cuddle and talk and...be free.

"Let's give this a shot," Lucy suddenly announced. "This whole dating thing. But let's start small. You help me with physics, I'll buy takeout, and then...we can make it a date."

"I'd like that," Laxus smiled briefly. Lucy felt her stomach flutter. She had seen Laxus smile genuinely before, yes, but this was like he was finally free of some great burden, and she supposed he was.

"So," Lucy smiled slyly. "Seven years, Laxus? My, my, what will Cana and Mira say...?"

"Same thing they'll say when I tell them about your heart wrenching request, borne of twu wuv."

"Fuck you!"

"Sure. How hard?"

"Laxus, you nasty perv-!"

As she attempted to suffocate him with her pillow, Lucy couldn't help but feel that everything would work out for the best, now that they both knew how they felt.

It was only a matter of time, after all, and Lucy was a very patient woman.

* * *

 **A/N:** YOU THOUGHT, BITCH, YOU THOUGHT. You have any idea how much I hate the shojou trope of "oh we fight but everyone thinks we're dating so I'm starting to fall in love because of that OH LOOK WE'RE DATING"? I hate it. That's not how real life works. I've been in that situation a few times, and trust me, it always stays at the friend level.

Life lesson: don't date people cause other people think you look good together. Date because it's you.

I get oddly wise at 3 AM...

-Touko


End file.
